Posts Tagged facebook

The world of social media has come a long way. From a Harvard University dorm room to helping launch Americas first black President there is no denying the force behind Facebook, equally with the British General Election just around the corner, the three main political parties have already created their Facebook fan pages in hope of a similar result. Other powerful platforms such as Twitter and something called YouTube have dominated the social media landscape but what does the future hold? With many predicting 2010 will be the year of location-based services, such as Foursquare, we’ve searched the far corners of the internet globe… not to mention asking our own team of social media prophets to compile a list of what the future holds for social media.

First off, location-based services:

Location-based services (LBS) works with your mobile phones geographical position system (GPS) to allow you to share your location with friends online. This system can be used in a variety of way, such as directing you to your nearest tube station or bank account but one method that has been very successful in the USA and is now proving a hit on these shores, is entertainment based LBS.

Two highlights of this are Fourquare and Gowalla.  These two applications allow you to share your location, find friends in your area and even recommend cafes, bars and restaurants. You will even be rewarded for your effort, with many retail chains now offering reward schemes or discounts including Debenhams  – where you can get a free coffee.

Checkout: www.foursquare.com  http://gowalla.com/

Real-Time Search

Did you notice the last time you logged onto your Facebook account you could view your friends updates as they happen? Well, that’s real-time.  To put it simply its publishing content as it happens, in, you guessed it, real-time.

But with the power of Facebook and a not-so-little micro-blogging site called Twitter, the major search engines including Bing are looking to deliver this fresh content to you in real-time search, giving you access to vast amounts of information as it happens.

Checkout: http://www.bing.com/community/blogs/search/archive/2009/10/21/bing-is-bringing-twitter-search-to-you.aspx

Social Media: The News Channel

Do you remember that picture Ashton took of Demi in her underwear or the first images of the Hudson River plane rescue? Both these stories broke on Twitter. There is no denying that the social media platform has now become a major news channel.

Today, news networks and publications have adopted micro-blogging with many investing in a dedicated Twitter correspondent whose sole job is to track the trends on Twitter and report on breaking stories.

Don’t have a Twitter account? Check out www.twitter.com and get tweeting!

Augmented Reality

It may sound like we are about to be put in a Matrix style alternative reality but it’s not that drastic. If you flash back to the Terminator films and remember Arnie’s red view through his eyes then you’ve almost got it.

Augmented Reality is a term used for a view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are then overlapped or augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery. Imagine having your Windows phone and wanting to know where your local tube, ATM or bus stop is. Rather than following a traditional map, with augmented reality you can simply lift your phone up, showing the road and the screen would show you where your closest tube station or bus stop is.

Check out: http://www.mobilizy.com/produkte

Tags: Augmented Reality, facebook, Fourquare, Gowalla, internet explorer, Microsoft, Real-Time Search, social media, twitter